March

Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president. Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis presents March, a graphic novel trilogy, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and New York Times best-selling artist Nate Powell (winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for Swallow Me Whole). March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall. Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1958 comic book "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story." Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations. Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books selection- recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults- "March- Book One," written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell, and published by Top Shelf Productions.

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This graphic novel really helped to adjust my perspective on the civil rights movement in America.

People were killed, people were beaten, people were permanently disabled from beatings they received. They were arrested, jailed, outed as gay in front of thousands of people. Of course I know those things to be true. I would not dispute them.

But in this graphic novel, Lewis names them, calls them his friends, his brothers, his sisters and he speaks them into my memory.

The incredible thing about this graphic novel was it once again, like the first volume, made me adjust my activism.

Too often, some racist incident will come up on my Twitter feed, on TV, on the radio and I’ll say, “Oh my god, it’s 2018. This shouldn’t be happening.” I consider racism, homophobia, sexism and ableism to all be abhorrent and try my best to unlearn all of the aggressions and micro aggressions society has taught me to employ. So when someone (or an institution) wilfully engages in racism, homophobia, sexism and ableism I am shocked.

And no it shouldn’t be happening in 2018 and it is. Racist, homophobic, sexist, patriarchal things happen because of the systems upon which they were built.

I want to adjust my activism so that it no longer dismisses someone’s lived experience by saying things like: “Oh my god, it’s 2018. This shouldn’t be happening.” Because it did happen, and it hurts. Am I still shocked that two black men were arrested for waiting in a Starbucks just the other day? Of course, but based upon the institutions that built the world in the way we currently live, I won’t be surprised.

People change their minds, their hearts, their actions, but institutions do not, or they do so slowly, with watered down legislation that does not have to be enforced.

Of course, I’m making generalisations, but the frustration I feel after reading the second volume of March is real.

This graphic novel is an example of how people of colour have consistently physically put their bodies on the line in order to gain equal rights. March book 2 has a great and a terrifying physicality. Beatings, dogs, bodies bent in prayer, water hoses from the fire department used to stop children, March never looks away, never hesitates, but continues on despite all adversity, much like Lewis himself.

Of the ten speakers at the Washington March in 1963, John Lewis is the only one still alive.

March continues to move back and forth between Lewis’ life story, and Barack Obama’s inauguration. The first volume used a slightly stilted frame narrative of Lewis recounting his childhood to two boys who visit his office with their mother, who wants to teach them about the history of the civil rights movement. The second volume is purely Lewis reflecting alone on his experiences as the inauguration progresses, which works more smoothly, and also creates some interesting juxtapositions. Lewis’ election as chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee is placed alongside Obama taking the oath of office. The scenes depicting famous speeches given at the March on Washington are followed by the opening words of President Obama’s inaugural address. Aretha Franklin sings “My Country Tis of Thee” in 2009 as Freedom Riders are beaten in the streets of Alabama in 1963. This creates an effect that conveys the breadth of history, even as the closing on the church bombing creates a sobering, cautionary finish. There is always a backlash.

A phenomenal graphic novel that tells the story of John Lewis's experience as a young boy and civil rights activist in the 1960s, this is an evocative and accessible window into a relevant part of our history.

Much detail has been packed into the March trilogy. My review is about all three books. Reading just one is like reading the third of the way through a book. It’s not a simple overview of the Civil Rights Movement and Representative John Lewis’ part in it. It is the passionate story of Lewis determination to find freedom for his segregated brothers and sisters. At times I was a little confused about what was happening, but if I studied the graphics as well as the text, it made sense. I am impressed with how the creative writing team made this book both an intimate story of Lewis and an epic story of American History. This would be a great addition to any high school study of civil rights.

An amazing insight into the history of John Lewis and the civil rights movement. This one seemed to catch its stride a bit better than the first one for me. The narrative seemed less choppy this time around and it really made it a much more enjoyable read. Highly recommended.

Summary

March: Book Two opens on Inauguration Day 2009, and then transitions back to Nashville in November 1960. After successfully integrating the city’s department store lunch counters, Lewis and the Nashville Student Movement continued in the same vein by trying to integrate cafeterias and fast food restaurants. They also turned their attention to segregated movie theatres. However, the heart of the second volume focuses on the Freedom Riders and the March on Washington, as Lewis rises to national prominence within the civil rights movement. Despite covering several climactic events, tension remains high, as the volume closes with the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963.